{"id":381768,"date":"2025-06-06T11:53:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=381768"},"modified":"2025-06-06T11:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:53:08","slug":"when-lithium-ion-batteries-set-sail-another-warning-to-be-ignored-by-the-climate-technocrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=381768","title":{"rendered":"When Lithium-Ion Batteries Set Sail: Another Warning to be Ignored by the Climate Technocrats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 4, 2025, the Morning Midas<\/em>\u2014a cargo ship loaded with over 3,000 vehicles, including approximately 800 electric and hybrid models\u2014was left adrift in the Pacific Ocean after catching fire 300 miles southwest of Alaska\u2019s Adak Island.<\/a> Thankfully, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated. But the fire, reportedly starting on the vehicle deck, overwhelmed the vessel\u2019s onboard suppression systems and forced a total abandonment. The ship, flagged under Liberia and en route from China to Mexico, now floats like a ghost vessel\u2014a monument to the hazards of our increasingly electrified obsession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This latest incident is more than just a maritime mishap. It\u2019s a warning. A costly one, literally and figuratively, about the technological delusions driving climate-centric energy policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s not mince words: the proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) is a politically engineered phenomenon. It\u2019s not market demand but bureaucratic fiat, massive subsidies, and regulatory cudgels that are flooding global supply chains with lithium-ion batteries. And when these batteries go up in flames, they don\u2019t just emit smoke\u2014they torch the narrative that this energy transition is safe, sustainable, or rational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lithium-Ion Fire Problem: Not Just a Technical Glitch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to The Times<\/em>,<\/a> \u201cThe fire broke out on the vehicle deck of the ship, which is carrying electric vehicles that contain lithium-ion batteries, a type of battery known for being difficult to extinguish once ignited.\u201d Fire suppression systems failed to contain the blaze\u2014just like they did in similar disasters, including the Felicity Ace<\/em>, which sank in 2022 along with 4,000 vehicles after a battery-related fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As The Washington Post<\/em> notes,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cLithium-ion battery fires are notoriously hard to extinguish. They often require immense volumes of water and can reignite even after appearing extinguished. Once a fire begins on a cargo ship, especially one carrying EVs, the danger multiplies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

None of this is surprising to those who\u2019ve been paying attention. Lithium-ion batteries, the workhorse of the EV movement, are not merely flammable\u2014they\u2019re energetic time bombs under the right conditions. They\u2019re prone to thermal runaway, a fancy term for \u201cyou can\u2019t put the fire out once it starts.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> This is not a minor engineering inconvenience. It\u2019s a fundamental flaw of the very core of the so-called clean energy revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This event highlights, yet again, the hubris of the technocratic caste who believe that spreadsheets, slogans, and subsidies can override physics and chemistry. The push for EVs has never been about sound science or market viability\u2014it has been a triumph of ideology over evidence. And it\u2019s average people, logistics networks, and now even global shipping routes that are paying the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Morning Midas<\/em> fire is a maritime echo of policy arrogance: a floating allegory of what happens when top-down climate mandates ignore the inconvenient details. These details include not only the fire risk of EV batteries but also the human cost of cobalt mining, the environmental degradation of lithium extraction, and the limited recyclability of these so-called green technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to reiterate, this isn\u2019t even the first time a ship has been sacrificed at the altar of climate policy. As The Wall Street Journal<\/em> notes,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIn 2022, the Felicity Ace<\/em>, carrying thousands of EVs including high-end brands, caught fire and eventually sank in the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the loss of vehicles valued at over $400 million.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What did we learn? Apparently nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One might expect policymakers to pause and reconsider the wisdom of forcing an electrified fleet onto the world. Instead, incidents like this are met with silence or worse\u2014more deflection and rhetorical gymnastics about how such setbacks are just \u201cgrowing pains.\u201d If a fossil-fueled cargo ship carrying traditional cars went up in flames this regularly, you can bet there\u2019d be a parade of headlines and UN statements calling for the end of internal combustion engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when EVs ignite, the media response is muted. Why? Because to question the safety of EVs is to question the entire green transition\u2014and that is a heresy punishable by cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be clear: no one is suggesting that lithium-ion batteries be banned. What\u2019s being demanded is honesty. It\u2019s one thing to promote EVs in a competitive market that values performance, price, and safety. It\u2019s another to enforce their adoption through regulatory compulsion while ignoring their very real dangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fire aboard the Morning Midas<\/em> is the logical outcome of a world governed by narrative rather than nuance. Climate policy today operates more like a religion than a science\u2014complete with saints (Greta), sinners (Exxon), and sacraments (Net Zero). It elevates technologies to sacred status without demanding proof of their safety, scalability, or superiority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global shipping industry is already grappling with draconian emissions targets and bureaucratic overreach. Now, it\u2019s being asked to risk floating battery farms across oceans, all to appease climate prophets in Geneva and Brussels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need a serious reassessment. Not more subsidies. Not more mandates. A real, skeptical, evidence-based appraisal of where this so-called transition is actually leading us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because if the goal is to save the planet, setting fire to it with lithium doesn\u2019t seem like the smartest route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\/T Mike, John W, recukeet, Walter S, and \u201csomeone\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On June 4, 2025, the\u00a0Morning Midas\u2014a cargo ship loaded with over 3,000 vehicles, including approximately 800 electric and hybrid models\u2014was left adrift in the Pacific Ocean after catching fire 300 miles southwest of Alaska\u2019s Adak Island.\u00a0Thankfully, all 22 crew members were safely evacuated. But the fire, reportedly starting on the vehicle deck, overwhelmed the vessel\u2019s onboard suppression systems and forced a total abandonment. The ship, flagged under Liberia and en route from China to Mexico, now floats like a ghost vessel\u2014a monument to the hazards of our increasingly electrified obsession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":381770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819716,691821977,691818618,691821174,691826783,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-381768","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-policy","9":"tag-electric-vehicles-evs","10":"tag-energy-transition","11":"tag-lithium-ion-batteries","12":"tag-massive-subsidies","13":"tag-net-zero","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-6.-Juni-2025-11_51_32.png?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Bjy","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":383104,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=383104","url_meta":{"origin":381768,"position":0},"title":"Cargo Ship With Electric Vehicles Burning is Abandoned in Pacific Ocean","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"There is another example to add to the collection of incidents related to lithium batteries. Last week, a British-managed, Liberian-flagged vessel named\u00a0Morning Midas\u00a0was traveling from Yantai, China, to L\u00e1zaro C\u00e1rdenas, Mexico, carrying approximately 3,000 vehicles (750 to 800 of which were either fully electric or hybrid vehicles).","rel":"","context":"In \"Cargo ship\"","block_context":{"text":"Cargo ship","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=cargo-ship"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-19_32_13.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-19_32_13.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-19_32_13.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-13.-Juni-2025-19_32_13.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":382749,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=382749","url_meta":{"origin":381768,"position":1},"title":"On a bad day an EV can do $100 million dollars worth of damage","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A week after fire broke out on the Morning Midas, the salvage crew have finally reached the boat. The bulk car carrier was abandoned last Tuesday and has been adrift 300 miles south of Alaska. The ship only had 68 full EVs on board, with 681 hybrid cars, among a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Electric cars\"","block_context":{"text":"Electric cars","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=electric-cars"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/00Screenshot-2025-06-11-164933.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/00Screenshot-2025-06-11-164933.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/00Screenshot-2025-06-11-164933.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/00Screenshot-2025-06-11-164933.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/00Screenshot-2025-06-11-164933.png?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":383395,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=383395","url_meta":{"origin":381768,"position":2},"title":"Morning Midas and\u00a0Chums","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"16\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Morning Midas caught fire about ten days ago. It was carrying cars, and some of them were EVs, and some hybrids. Was the fire caused by a lithium battery? I don\u2019t know. The crew probably knows, but they don\u2019t appear to be going freelance and telling us, no doubt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Allianz\"","block_context":{"text":"Allianz","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=allianz"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-16-101646.png?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-16-101646.png?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-16-101646.png?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-16-101646.png?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0Screenshot-2025-06-16-101646.png?fit=1200%2C678&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":293506,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=293506","url_meta":{"origin":381768,"position":3},"title":"Cargo ship carrying burning lithium-ion batteries reaches Alaska, but kept offshore for safety","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/01\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A\u00a0large cargo ship with a fire in its hold\u00a0is being kept 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.","rel":"","context":"In \"Alaska\"","block_context":{"text":"Alaska","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alaska"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/030xp-fire-2-superJumbo.webp?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/030xp-fire-2-superJumbo.webp?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/030xp-fire-2-superJumbo.webp?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/030xp-fire-2-superJumbo.webp?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/030xp-fire-2-superJumbo.webp?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":391664,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=391664","url_meta":{"origin":381768,"position":4},"title":"The False Promises of Electric Vehicles Are Being Exposed","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Shipping giant Matson declared last week that it would no longer transport electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrids on its vessels, citing the fire risks posed by lithium-ion batteries. This decision, effective immediately, followed the catastrophic sinking of the carrier Morning Midas earlier in June. 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